Of Darkin and Dragons
by The Lonely Curator
Summary: Sent back in time from a doomed future, Morgan holds the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she will use any power to defeat Grima. So when she finds Rhaast, an ancient scythe who promises her power, she takes him. But his offer comes with the price that if she fails, her body will be claimed by him, to be used as a vessel against Grima.


He heard the voice before he sensed or saw her in his black abyss. It was an echo of an echo, almost indistinguishable from the other sounds around him, but persistent and new enough in his home that he realized it almost immediately.

"Awaken, Darkin," the voice said, much louder now.

"Yes," he hissed out into the darkness. "I am awake, my lady."

A white light bathed the ancient room, and a woman in a white dress with long hair gracefully walked in. The room was empty, cracked, and sealed by a large stone, but it had moved for her, finally granting the outside world access to him.

Against the far wall he gently floated, bathed in a red light, his form as timeless as her. "How long has it been?" he asked her.

"Thousands of years, Shadow Walker. Long enough for him to return."

The light around him flared brightly. Then it gently returned to normal. "Then it is time I return to the world to combat the shadows again."

"Yes," she said. "As we speak a group closes in to these ruins. They will find you. I leave it up to you in figuring out which one will fit your purpose best." She then began to walk back out, but glanced over her shoulder. "It is good to see you again, Rhaast."

"You as well, Naga." Rhaast said. With a flash of light she was gone, leaving the ancient Darkin to his own devices. Soon there would be new vessels here to help him. He would combat Grima once more. But first, he would need a body. Because currently, he would not be able to stand against Grima as just a scythe.

* * *

Morgan stuck close to the leader of the group, not wanting to wander too far from him, especially in these dark ruins with the others around. She had been stuck with them for a few weeks now, traveling Ylisse to slowly make their way into Ylisstol, where she needed to be. In exchange for guiding the somewhat amnesiac girl, she was to aid them in their spelunking into some old ruins. She had enjoyed it at first, but once the others found out how much better she was at finding things than them, and with their first rule being "Finders keepers," it meant most all the group wanted to see her bleed.

But their leader, Kayle, did not allow infighting among the group. That had been reaffirmed when one of their ex members tried to hurt Morgan. He soon found himself without a hand, and then shortly after, without a head. So now everyone kept their wrath contained, but the glares were not hidden very well from her. Not that she couldn't fight her own battles. Her father had taught her well, as had her mother. If they did try anything, she had a well kept blade for them. But for now, she just needed to be patient. They were almost to Ylisstol now, and she had too much on the line to die while treasure hunting with greedy liars.

The group entered a large open chamber, Kayle glancing around before nodding to himself. "We should all split up. Enough tunnels for everyone to have their own." He started to make his way down the middle most tunnel. "And be quick. We are almost to Ylisstol." He then disappeared down into the darkness.

Morgan quickly moved down a random tunnel, hoping to scamper off before any of her fans decided to follow her. She followed the hallways of her path, the walls mostly faded, but most all showing the same two symbols. One six eyed mark that she recognized as the mark of Grima, and another unfamiliar to her.

It almost looked like a blade with a slit eye, a hateful gaze coming from it. She just gave it passing glances. Everything worth taking was already gone from here, and all she wanted to do was get away from the people she was sure were following her. Then she stopped when something out of the corner of her eye stuck out to her.

A faint red glow coming from a crack in the wall. She scanned the stone, seeing it was weak, and almost meant to just trick people to what really lay behind it. She took her elfire tome out, sending a weak blast at the wall. Crumbling down, she could see a short walk up some stairs into a room. To the left of the doorway was a rather large rock that had been seemingly moved.

She crept forward, keeping attentive for any sort of traps that were awaiting her in the darkness. Cautiously glancing into the room she saw only one thing. A large, red scythe floating near the far wall, painting the room in a red glow. It almost felt like it was... calling to her. She stepped forward, her hand slowly reaching for the sword on her side. She had almost reached the weapon when she heard a noise behind her. Turning, she drew her blade quickly and blocked a swing coming towards her head. She then pressed a hand to her attacker's chest and sent a magic pulse into him, launching him backwards.

She settled into a ready stance, gritting her teeth as she watched the man be picked up by the rest of the group. Seven of them in total. They all began to slowly creep towards her with dark looks painting their faces. She stepped back until she bumped into the scythe, her vision flashing with painful images that caused her to drop her sword.

A six eyed dragon.

A blade of holy fire.

The scythe opening an eye and gazing into her soul.

A demonic creature, with a red and black almost scaled body. Wicked claws for fingers, large horns, and blood red slit eyes.

She saw herself, battered and beaten on the fields of a great battlefield, facing a shadowy figure with someone behind herself on the ground.

The scythe flying into the air in front of her, glowing a hellish red before impaling her chest, the tip coming out of her back and sending a spray of blood out. Then she began to turn into the monster, losing control of herself. She could hear a name in that moment.

_"Rhaast... Rhaast... RHAAST!" _

Then she could see the monster combating her true enemy, Grima. This thing was an enemy of Grima. She could feel this scythe's desire to kill Grima. That it needed her to do its task.

She returned to reality, seeing her sword too far away to claim back without being run through. She turned behind her, seeing the scythe. She had never used in before, but it was a much better choice than using her hands. She grabbed the weapon in her left hand and turned back to face them, the left sleeve of her coat almost immediately bursting apart up to the shoulder.

Then the pain started, along with a voice entering her head. _"Give in. Give your flesh to me. Obey." _She almost did, seeing that the monster had a strength she did not. This weapon could succeed where she failed. Could beat Grima for her. But then she stopped it. She would not have come this far, defying fate itself, breaking time to get here, only to have some ancient weapon claim her body. She had so much more she still needed to do. So Morgan fought against it, the pain in her arm, neck and face dying down. _"Interesting," _the voice said. She hunched over, panting wildly. She looked up, the men in front of her were keeping their distance. They had fear in their eyes.

She settled into a ready stance with the weapon by her side, memories not her own of wielding the weapon coming into her mind. She could use it. She would kill them, and then she would get out of here. She rushed them, taking the opportunity of their shock to attack. Within a few seconds, all but two had been killed. The last two opted for running away.

They left the room, Morgan closing in and tripping the closest one. While he was downed, she quickly finished him off. The last one was far away from her though, with seemingly no way of catching him. Until she felt something tell her to walk into the wall. She stepped sideways, melting into the wall. She could sense everything around herself now. Including the man. She then started to float through the rock, moving faster than she had thought was possible. She reached him, leaping out of the wall and slashing his back.

She slid to a stop, seeing him still running from her. She jumped towards him, feeling herself disappear into the man's body while the scythe was floating in the air. The man froze, his body not responding to his will. Then the scythe dropped, starting to cut into his shoulder before Morgan reappeared, grabbing the weapon and pulling the rest of the way and splitting the man from shoulder to his opposite hip. Landing on the ground, she began to suck in and out breath.

What had she just done? She had killed before, yes. But only once or twice, and the most she fought was Risen back in the past. Not seven men with whatever the hell this scythe was. And how had she done any of the strange magics? _"You continue to surprise me, Morgan," _the voice said.

"Who are you?" she asked, trembling from the adrenaline slightly.

_"The only chance you have against the real enemy of this world." _

"Grima," she whispered.

The scythe hissed at the name. _"I alone can defeat him." _

"Then why haven't you in the past," she questioned.

_"I have, girl! Why do you think the world has been existing for this long?" _the scythe shot back.

"Where were you in the future I came from when Grima destroyed everything!?" She glanced to the scythe, dropping it when she saw both the red eye watching her, and her arm.

The scythe let out a bland _"Ouch," _as he impacted the ground, while the black haired girl stared at her left arm in fear. She gently touched it with her other hand, feeling the coarse skin, almost like armor. Black and red almost metal flesh had replaced her original arm, coming all the way up to her shoulder. She traced it, finding the corruption went completely up the side of her neck and to her left eye. She began to breathe heavily before turning to the blade responsible and stepping on the eye.

"What did you do to me?"

_"Calm down! You can't kill me." _

"Is that a challenge?" She pressed harder, the scythe letting out a pained shout.

_"You aren't dying, if that's your concern!" the scythe said. _

"My concern," she shot back, "is the fact that my arm is no longer what it was. And considering it looks like your creepy ass self, I'd warrant a guess that you caused this!" She then kicked the weapon away, drawing a tome and readying a spell, not concerned with what the spell was, just so long as it made a big explosion. She was about to release it when the scythe spoke again.

_"You are trying to stop Grima. As am I. We need each other." _It said.

"Yeah right," she said. "And why would I need you after this?" She then gestured to her changed arm. "What happens after you decide you don't need more. Or worse? You just want to use me as a vessel? Then what?"

_"I cannot claim a vessel until they give in, or are unable to function. You are safe, girl." _

Morgan slowed her breathing, dropping her channel of the spell. "Give me one damned good reason not to leave you here in this cave for all of time?" She didn't want to take the scythe, but a strange feeling in her gut told he she might need it. Whatever it truly was. It had almost tried to take her once, but she had fought it off. And if she could use even a fraction of the powers it had like earlier, she would stand a much better chance against Grima and his minions this time around.

_"I do not lose, girl. You may not give in to me now, but eventually, you will see that you lack the strength to truly win this war. So when that time comes, I will need to be there to win it. Think of me as... insurance, for when you inevitably lose." _The scythe said.

"And if I don't lose?" she countered.

_"Then consider me pleasantly surprised." _

She remained silent before asking her next question. "You tried to claim my body. To take it as your own. What happens if I win this little struggle? If I take your power, blade?"

To this the scythe could not respond. No one had tried that before. Let alone resisted him before. He had taken many a vessel in the past, all giving in when he showed them the truth. Either breaking, or trusting him to win against Grima. She had started to, but stopped him. And now here she was asking if she could consume him, so to speak. He had no answer to her, however. _"I will not lose to you, Morgan. Of that I can assure you. This ends in one of two ways. You submit to me, or you somehow, someway, stop Grima and we go our separate ways." _

Mulling it over in her head, Morgan eventually stalked forward, kicking the scythe up before grasping it in her left hand, spinning and then resting the blade on her back, where it magically clung to her father's tactician coat. "Got a name? Or should I just call you a farm implement?" she asked while making her way out of the ruins. She was close enough to Ylisstol that she didn't need her guides any more. Besides, Kayle might not like that she had slain all his men and was half of whatever this scythe was now.

_"Rhaast is what I am called." _

She noted it sounded similar to an ancient language she had once started to learn, back in her time. "And what does that mean in your tongue? I never got that far in my studies."

_"Obey," _the scythe said.

"Of course it does." They reached the surface when Morgan crossed her arms. "Where to now, Rhaast? My guides are a little... dead, and or missing underground."

_"What would you do without me?" _Rhaast taunted.

"Not look like some freak. How the hell am I supposed to just walk into Ylisstol looking like this, by the way?" she said venomously. Rhaast did not respond, so she groaned. Barely over the horizon she saw what appeared to be castle walls. So she began to make her ways towards it, the sun beginning to set in the distance far from her. She walked almost an hour, the sun just having dipped out of sight when she felt the ground rumbling beneath her. She pulled Rhaast from her back, setting him casually into her left hand backwards.

"What was that?"

_"Lost," _the Darkin stated.

She was about to question when she rolled to the side, dodging the swing of a large Risen with an axe. Stopping in a kneeling position, Morgan scowled. "Risen? Great!"

_"I think you mean the Lost." _Rhaast said, casually.

"I meant what I said. They're called Risen." She rushed forward, swinging the weapon around her as she passed the Risen, cleaving it in half at the waistline. "Though I guess the name doesn't matter if they're weak." She watched it dissolve away, and she narrowed her eyes dangerously, her corrupted one flashing briefly. "Why are they so weak? The ones from my time could take a massive thrashing before going down. This one dropped far too easily."

_"You doubt my strength?"_ Rhaast asked, feigned hurt in his voice.

"Not necessarily. I doubt these Risen."

_"Grima has not yet returned. So his thralls are weak. Which is why we need to strike before he gains power. So if you would hand over your body, I can erase him before more time is wasted." _Rhaast stated.

"Not gonna happen, Lawn Mower." She could practically feel the scythe's dislike of the nick name. So she decided to keep it. The duo continued through the forest, seeing a large amount of destruction. The trees were uprooted, fires had started, and Risen stalked everywhere. Regardless of these ones being weaker or not, Morgan knew that stealth was a much better tool than attempting to fight her way through. And with Rhaast's ability to shadow step through the trees and bushes with ease, she found no further trouble from the Risen. She could feel some amount of respect from Rhaast, however, as she easily went about skulking through the dark forest.

_"You seem to have much more experience than your age would suggest."_ Rhaast noted after they had gone without seeing Risen for a while, the damaged forest left behind, and the duo having made it to a much quieter part of Ylisse.

"I had to be skilled to survive Grima's hellish future, Rhaast. If you didn't have the abilities necessary, you died. Simple as that." They were silent until Morgan asked a question. "Can others hear you as well as me? Or will I look crazy talking to you? Or will people want to burn us when they see a talking scythe with a glowing eye?"

_"Only those I wish to speak to can hear me. All else will hear nothing. And yes, I suppose my eye can be a bit... strange to the common folk. But I can close it and see through yours. We do somewhat share it now." _

Morgan gently touched the area around her corrupted eye, humming softly to herself. "Does that mean you have control of both my eye and arm?"

_"No, but they are signs that I have claimed you as my vessel." _Rhaast said softly.

"How nice." They once more fell into silence before Morgan began to feel tired. She set the scythe against a nearby tree before settling against it, resting her head against it and leaning Rhaast to be closer to her. "I'm guessing you don't need to sleep, so let me know if you see anything... not friendly, I guess." She began to slowly fall into sleep after that. Rhaast remained quiet, surveying everything around them, sensing some forest life, but nothing warranting Morgan to wake up. He noticed that she sometimes would fidget at a slight sound every now and then, her hand instinctively reaching towards him. It seemed even in sleep she was extraordinarily attentive. He had acted like he didn't notice before. But she was always aware of everything happening around her. Her mind always racing with plans and ways to adapt and survive. Almost like an armies tactician during a battle. She must have had trained, he noted.

Or maybe she had been forced to learn, like she had told him earlier. But he had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't truly the complete case. He had glimpses of her memories, but not much. Only those that were tied to whatever she was currently thinking. And right now, she was only thinking of the scythe, Ylisstol, and some of what he assumed were her friends. They had seemed to come back in time with her, but they had been scattered about after entering the portal to come back. So they remained this way until the first lights of the sun were peaking over the horizon. Rhaast watched it silently, noting that it had been so long since he had seen a sunrise. They were truly marvelous things to witness. Being locked underground for thousands of years certainly helped one to see that, he found.

His thoughts were cut short when he felt a presence approaching them. _"Morgan!" _he said sharply. Immediately the girl rolled to her feet, readying the blade. _"Someone comes," _Rhaast said.

She stepped behind a tree, sensing where the person was coming from. Waiting, she watched with baited breath as an armored knight came through the thicket in large blue armor. She let out a gasp at who it was. "Fredrick," she said softly.

_"Friend of yours?" _Rhaast asked.

"Father of one of my best friends from the future. He is the stalwart protector of Chrom, the future Exalt of Ylisse. And father of my best friend, Lucina."

Rhaast rolled his eye. _"Thank you for the exposition, dear," _he said sarcastically.

"He died in the future! Let me be happy that I get to see him and the others again. Eventually." Then something clicked in her head. "If he's here, Chrom must be too. And where Chrom is, so is my father!"

_"You're not just going to show yourself, are you? You said it yourself, you hardly look as adorable as you once did," _Rhaast taunted.

"I just need to follow them. Then protect them, prevent all the bad events from the future, and save everyone." She seemed confident. "Why fight Grima when we can just stop him from ever coming back to life? Easy fix!"

_"Were it so easy," _Rhaast said. _"But you can try as much as you wish. Just remember that I will be here to correct your mistakes." _

"My mistakes?" she said. "My mistakes at least have some thought going into them instead of your just 'Kill everything evil! Grr- I'm a monsterous scythe! Look at me!'"

_"I do not sound like that!" _

Morgan only snickered. "Lies help sooth the mind, eh Lawn Mower?" She saw Fredrick was beginning to move along now. "So shut up, so I can focus on following them effectively."

The girl began to follow behind the large knight carefully, keeping Rhaast at the ready, just in case. She remembered hearing stories of him killing men in a split second. If she made a mistake, she needed a way to protect herself. After all, she thought, it'd be a shame to get killed by the father of one of her friends after overcoming hell.

Following Fredrick was easy, as he wasn't very fast. But she learned very quickly that he was incredibly attentive, almost catching her a few times. The girl hissed in annoyance when Fredrick turned around again for the third time in the past minute. Then he would stare off into the distance, scanning the horizon for Naga knows how long. "We're getting no where at this point!" Morgan growled darkly, her left eye flashing brightly. Then she raised her weapon when she saw a flash of silver. Barely stopping the spear from impaling her, the girl spun up and kicked off her attacker, flying backwards and into a roll. She stopped on her feet, remaining low to the ground with Rhaast held behind her in her left hand, putting her right arm forward defensively.

She glanced into Fredrick's steely eyes, the girl shaking in slight fear. "Oh damn," she whimpered.

_"I do believe we're in trouble," _Rhaast said.

"No, really?" Fredrick charged her, far faster than she was anticipating. She narrowly dodged, but his spear managed to graze her side. She rolled, leaping off her hands and hooking Rhaast around a tree, sending her back into her adoptive uncle. She slammed her feet into his exposed side, sending him sliding backwards. What she didn't expect was for him to use his free hand to grab her leg and toss her. She saw a tree rapidly approaching, so she phased through it, latching onto the backside with Rhaast and landing softly. Then she leapt into a thicket of more, disappearing into the shadows.

"We can't fight him!"

_"If you can't fight him, how do you expect to beat Grima?" _

"I won't hurt my uncle!"

_"Funny, he seems to want to hurt you." _

"Not helping, Lawn Mower!" She set to work planning her next move when she heard movement from between her and Fredrick. A head of blue hair entered the clearing, looking around in confusion.

"Fredrick?" Chrom said. Morgan's eyes widened at the sight of him. He looked much younger than in her time. But that was granted. "What are you doing?" the prince asked.

The knight immediately grabbed him, placing him behind him defensively. "My lord, there is an assassin in these woods! I was fending her off. Stay ready!"

Chrom drew his blade, Morgan's eyes widening further at the gleam of it. "He looks so cool!"

_"Stop fawning over him, please! We have bigger problems! Such as - Look out!" _

Responding too late to dodge, Morgan felt a fireball clash into her, being able to use Rhaast to mitigate most of the damage. But she flew out of her hiding spot, sliding in the dirt a short ways. "Ouch. That stings," she groaned. Then she rolled to the side when Fredrick dropped his lance where she had been. It had snagged the end of her coat however, tearing a piece from it with a loud 'Rip'. The girl leapt back from them, glancing down to the torn fabric and then glaring at Fredrick with anger in her eyes. "Hey! This was my father's you ass!"

"Then maybe you should have run away," Fredrick challenged.

"Not likely. I've been looking for you guys," Morgan said, holding up her hand peacefully.

"And yet you bear a weapon on us."

"Hey, you attacked me first!" she bit back.

"You were following me!"

"That's... true. Okay, I did it because I was looking for you," she said while pointing to Chrom.

"Me?" the prince asked in confusion. "Why me? And for what purpose?"

"I wanted to..." she couldn't tell them she was from the future, or that her scythe was a sentient creature that was trying to destroy a supposedly non-existent god with her. They would never buy that. Then she got a plan. "Join the Shepherds!" she finished with a smile. The clearing went dead silent until a new voice spoke up.

"The Shepherds?" She turned and gasped at the person in front of her. Similar coat, magic tomes, same face, though significantly younger and... white hair? That was different, but it was definitely her father. "What are the Shepherd's?" Robin asked.

"The group I lead to fight bandits," Chrom said. Then he directed his gaze back to Morgan. "And why not just go to Ylisstol? Why go through this trouble?" he asked.

She made to answer, but then froze. She didn't really have a good answer in all honesty. "Good question!" she pointed forward, giving a confused smile.

"I do not trust her, milord," Fredrick said. He wouldn't know, but that hurt her. She couldn't fault him, not in the slightest. He was always protective of them in the future. And now... she was a stranger, to all of them. She noticed Chrom eyeing her very closely.

The girl in front of him had to be around her late teens, or twenty at the most. She was small, almost like she wasn't eating as well as most. Her skin was pale, and her clothing and skin dirty. Her hair was black as night, with a single pale white bang pulled to the right side and tucked behind her ear. Her hair was very long from what he could tell, but she had it tied into a long and messy braid that reached her lower back. She seemed to be hiding her left side from him, for some reason. And her weapon was certainly... unsettling. He had seen people use scythes, though mostly for farming. And this one seemed made for combat, with a red and black metal making it up, and some wrappings around the handle near the bottom. Then there was the strange eye fixated on the blade. It wasn't really moving, but he could have sworn he saw it blink, the slit eye never moving from him.

"Interesting weapon you got there," he said, lowering Falchion slightly, but still at the ready. She glanced over her shoulder at her companion of sorts and nodded.

"Yeah... he's something else," she said in annoyance. Then she shot her head back to it swiftly, almost like it had insulted her. The eye flashed a bright red briefly, and he could have sword he heard her mutter something about a 'Lawn Mower' under her breath. "What was that?"

"Oh, just saying that I call him Rhaast," she responded. He had never heard such an... interesting name for a weapon, but his sister was certainly eccentric, so he supposed maybe this was just something people did. His weapon did technically have a name after all. But he never referred to his weapon as a 'he' or a 'she' like she was to hers. They all then swiveled their heads to see Lissa coming out from behind the stranger, the blonde yawning loudly.

"What's all the ruckus?" She opened her eyes and yipped in shock at the sight of the girl in front of her. "Who're you?"

"Morgan," the girl said. Chrom was on edge now. This strange girl, who had managed to survive Fredrick, was now a few feet away from his sister, who was nowhere near them. If this Morgan decided to strike Lissa, they had no way of defending her. They remained this way for a while until Lissa's eyes reached Morgan's arm that she was holding the scythe with. They couldn't see it from this angle, but whatever had grabbed Lissa's attention scared her.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Oh this?" Morgan lifted it slightly, the other three also being shocked at it. A corrupted flesh that was inhuman in all ways. She adjusted her grip on the scythe, the sharp claws on her finger tips showing briefly. "Well, that's a long story. But it's just a... mark of sorts I guess you could say?" Even she seemed uncertain how to explain it. Then he caught the glimpse of her left eye, seeing the corruption there as well. Her eye bore a slight resemblance to that of the scythe's.

"What are you?" Chrom asked.

"Human. Mostly," she said. "Look, we could play this game all day, but I'd much rather like to rest. Your knight got me better than I thought." He pressed her free hand to her side and grunted in pain. Chrom could see the slight stain on her white undershirt. She would probably need a new one, he noted.

"Alright, we'll trust you," Chrom said. He slowly placed Falchion away, hoping she would reciprocate.

With a smile and tiny glow from her eye, the girl placed the scythe on her back. "Awesome! Glad we worked that out." Then she leaned on a nearby tree. "Got any bandages?"

* * *

After having Lissa heal up Morgan, the group began their walk towards Ylisstol, Chrom knowing they would arrive within the hour. So he used it to ask her questions. Where she was from, why she wanted to join the Shepherds and others to that nature. She answered them, but they were broad answers, and ones he didn't quite believe completely. She said she had wandered most of her life, so she wasn't really tied to any specific place. Her answer to why her arm and eye were changed was completely avoided, or she blamed some Lawn Mower. Chrom had a feeling it was the scythe, but when he pried, she only shrugged and dropped into silence. Fredrick, however, was right behind her the whole time. He had not dropped his lance once, and she seemed to both know and be ok with this.

But the one thing that had kept his interest in her was when he had asked her why she wished to join the Shepherds.

"Seen a lot of my close friends and family die. Some disappeared and I never saw again. I wasn't strong enough, or in a position to do anything about it. But now things are different. I can make them different. Best way I can think to do that is to join the Shepherds and change fate. Make it so no one else has to suffer through what I did. No matter what I must do."

After that the group descended into silence except for Lissa and Morgan's hushed whispers. Seemed the two were already getting along. Though he imagined most of the words being exchanged were about Morgan's corrupted arm. He heard her say the word 'Darkin' but it meant nothing to him. They reached the gate of the city, the group entering and Morgan shrinking down noticeably. Robin, their amnesiac companion placed a hand on her right shoulder.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just... most people don't like the arm, ya know? Or the face. Or the scythe. Or the me," she ended far softer than she had begun. Chrom then took off his shoulder armor and unclasped his cape, offering it to her.

"Make sure I get it back."

She gently placed the cape over her shoulder, hiding most of her arm completely except her hand. Then she placed her hood over her head, seeming to melt into the shadows it created. They had almost reached the castle when a large crowd appeared and horns began to blare.

"The Exalt is coming!" people shouted. Morgan and Robin's heads both shot up, causing the prince to chuckle. They seemed similar to each other, even the coats were similar. But he guessed it was a culture thing. She had mentioned she had been most everywhere, and Robin was an amnesiac. So at one point, they were probably in the same place. The coats were most likely a copper a dozen if he were to guess. And Morgan's seemed far older and in worse shape. The left sleeve gone, the ends of the coat were tattered and flayed, with a large strip taken out of it. The right side was in much better condition, but even then, it could use a good washing. If the smell was any indication to him. Not that he would say that to her. He had learned that lesson with pointing out when a woman wasn't at their best. He could still feel the phantom pains.

"So that's the Exalt?" Robin asked.

"That she is!" Lissa said giddily.

Robin smiled. "Seems everyone loves her. Is it safe for her to be out like this though?"

Morgan then tapped his shoulder, pointing at the numerous guards around. "She's got her little entourage with her. Besides, who in their right mind would hurt her?"

Chrom chuckled at that. "Yes, I suppose. Though she is the best older sister one could ask for."

Robin whipped around quickly, his eyes bugging out. "Wait, you're..." He then dropped to a knee. "I'm so sorry, your highness! I had no idea!"

Chrom just hefted the man back up. "Hey now, don't worry about it."

"But you said you were a Shepherd!" Robin pointed out.

"We are," Chrom said, a smirk working its way onto his face. "We just have a lot of sheep to look after." He glanced to Morgan seeing the girl glancing towards Emmeryn with a thousand yard stare. "You good Morgan?"

The girl jumped slightly. "Huh? Me? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just... never have seen the Exalt before. Or really the capitol, ya know? It's... a lot." She seemed shaken by something. He followed her gaze, seeing only Emmeryn and her guards.

"Well, you'll have an opportunity to meet her soon enough," Chrom said. "Come on. Let's go introduce you to the other Shepherds."

They began to walk off when a woman's voice called out to them. "Prince Chrom, hold a moment." The group turned to see a woman with pale hair coming towards them, her Pegasus armor pristine and worn with pride as she crossed her arms behind her back.

"Phila, what can I do for you?" He noticed Morgan freeze up completely by his side, the girl moving to hide behind him slightly.

"I need to meet with you and the war council to discuss this new threat that has come up. You have encountered them, yes?"

Chrom frowned in annoyance. "Yes, we have. I suppose that is far more important." He turned to his knight. "Fredrick, will you accompany me?"

"And leave Lissa alone with..." he turned to Robin and Morgan, the latter giving a smug grin while placing her corrupted hand on her hip. "Them."

"They'll be fine, Sir Wary. Come. The faster we get this over with, the sooner you can get back to guarding Lissa." Chrom began to follow Phila, turning back to them. Morgan had moved to be closer to Robin now, watching them closely. "Lissa will show you to the Shepherd's barracks. We will meet up with you soon!"

"Have fun!" Lissa called after them. She then turned to them quickly. "Now, you two! Let's go and meet the other Shepherd's!" The duo followed her closely, seeing many of the sights that Ylisstol had to offer them. Entering the castle grounds, they were escorted by Lissa to a side building that was much smaller than the rest of the other ones. Entering, they were greeted to a large mess, with weapons on the wall and shelves with strange little bits and bobbles that had been clearly collected over the years.

"Welcome to the Shepherd's barracks!" Lissa shouted while throwing her arms to the side. "It may not seem like much, but the strongest of Ylisse's warriors reside here! They could take you down in a second!"

_"I doubt that," _Rhaast said. Morgan gave him a sour blast of emotion, hoping it reached him. And slipped in his oh so favorite nick name.

"Lissa, are you and the captain back?" The three turned to see a woman in Pegasus armor with curled hair coming into the room. She then promptly tripped over nothing, and Morgan snickered slightly, placing her left hand over her mouth without thinking. The woman glanced up to her and noticed the arm almost instantly. "What happened to your arm!? And who are you? Wait, why do you have Chrom's cape!? Did you do something to him!?"

Morgan gave a glance to see the cape still over her shoulder. She gave a small shrug to her old guardian. "He let me borrow it while we walked the streets. Most people would react like you if they saw me. Can't be causing mass panic, now can we?" she said with a tint of mischief to her tone. Then she offered her normal hand to the woman. "Name's Morgan, friend. And you are?" She knew very well who it was, but she wasn't about to open that can of worms.

"Sumia," the clumsy one said with a loop sided grin as she was helped up. "Oh, I like your hair!" She then began to pick at Morgan's braids, the younger girl uncertain what to do. After all, it was Sumia who taught her how to tie her hair like this to keep it out of the way. Then the woman took in a whiff, recoiling almost immediately. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

"Well... what day is it?" Morgan asked, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Monday."

"Then I don't know!" The group was quiet until Chrom and Fredrick walked in.

"Everyone, we have a mission coming up. We're going to-"

"Not yet, Chrom!" Sumia shouted, starting to drag Morgan away from them all, despite the half-Darkin's struggling.

"What? But, why? And what are you doing, Sumia?" He asked, pure confusion on his face.

The knight pulled his cape off Morgan's shoulder, tossing it back to her captain and then continuing on. "This poor girl needs to get cleaned up first. I may not know what we're doing, but she cannot be seen at any less than her best!"

Morgan only reached out her left hand, hoping someone would take it. "Save me!" Their laughter was the only thing they sent her way. And she may have heard someone say something along the lines of a good luck. "Sumia, I'll be fine, I promise. Where I'm from, hygiene was a secondary to survival. Not taking a bath for another day or so won't kill me!"

"It might kill us! Have you had a good smelling of yourself lately?"

"If I said yes would you let me go?" Sumia's death glare was all the answer she needed. "Please be gentle," she whimpered.

Sumia ran a hand through Morgan's hair, or tried to. Almost immediately her fingers were snagged by knots. "Gentle is not an option, I'm afraid."

_"This aught to be entertaining." _

Morgan's face ran red. "You better not look!" she blurted out, not even thinking.

Sumia turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "I see no reason not to? I need to brush your hair while you're in the tub, after all." Then she continued to tug on the girl's arm.

Morgan's dread only grew when she heard Rhaast chuckle darkly. _"This is very enjoyable. Seeing you out of your element, and not in control." _

She vowed in her head that after this, she was melting down the scythe and turning him into a spoon. Then they would see who was laughing. If she didn't die from embarrassment first. But she eventually relented to Sumia's pulling, giving a small grin. At least she was back home, and on the first step of many to save the future. Even though she was definitely making it all up on the fly. But Rhaast didn't need to know that, or he would never let her live it down.

"Alright, bath time!" Sumia almost cheered.

If Rhaast ever let her live this down. She glanced to the scythe briefly and scowled. "Not. One. Word!"

_"Hahaha!" _


End file.
